Early Accessing

I’ve bought a few games on Early Access/Kickstarter/Alpha Funding/What ever you want to call it.
Selling a game in it’s development cycle is a relatively new concept, it allows a developer to not become beholden to a publishing company and retain control over their property, but goddammit if there isn’t one thing that is bugging the absolute shit out of me.

The fucking users.
I’m not talking about everyone, but there’s a big portion, a dense portion who fail to realise what terms like “Early Access” mean.
Early access means you are supporting an unfinished product, it means you are not buying a game, you are testing an unfinished game and allowing the developers to continue their work.

Most people seem to realise that an Early Access might not even work, it will be bugged and is not reprensentative of the full product, but it seems like there is a vocal minority who decry every Early Access item as a scam and demand refunds when the game doesn’t work.

If you buy an early access game and expect it to be a finished game, you’re an asshole.
If you buy an early access game and expect it to be free of bugs, you’re a douche.
If you buy an early access game and expect it to even work on every system, you’re just dumb.

What’s tipped me over the edge on this topic is a new release called The Forest.
Barely out a week and from an indie team of four, not a day goes past without users on Steam complaining about the game being broken, bugged or just not working, there are demands to “make it work” without providing system speciications or consideration for how much work it might take.

If you buy Early Access, you play the game and report on bugs, how well it plays, you don’t make fucking demands.
If you want a full game, wait for the end release.
But if you want the game Early Access (and you want the reduced price) then don’t be an asshole.